Digital Reliquiae
by Niteshayde
Summary: The DigiWorld's in trouble! Margo Green, Bill Smithback, Vincent D'Agosta, and Ryan Pendergast must join forces with the DigiDestined -- as TEENAGERS -- to defeat the evil LadyDragamon and her Gentrymon and Mbwamon minions!
1. Prologue -- "A Quick History Lesson Is I...

Digital Reliquiae -- Prologue -- "A Quick History Lesson Is In Order..." 

_I do not own Digimon. I do not own the characters from the Relic/Reliquary books. I do own Foxmon, Falcomon, and Cubmon -- not to mention Lobomon, Mystimon, Harpimon, Gentrymon, Mbwamon, and LadyDragamon. I also own the crests of Spirit, Practicality, Wisdom, and Virtue. So there._

  


  
Twelve children: Taichi Yagami, Yamato Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Koushiro Izumi, Mimi Tachikawa, Jyou Kido, Takeru Takaishi, Hikari Kamiya, Daisuke Motomiya, Miyako Inoue, Iori Hida, and Ken Ichijouji.   
Twelve children, selected by a mysterious force -- fate, maybe? -- to protect the Digital World from evil.   
Call them... the "DigiDestined".   
And they are about to undergo the shock of their lives.   
They're about to get some new recruits. 

  
Four adults: Margo Green, Bill Smithback, Vincent D'Agosta, and Ryan Pendergast.   
Four adults, selected by a mysterious force -- fate, maybe? -- to, multiple times, protect people from variations of a horrific creature called Mbwun.   
Call them... well, call them nothing. They are not yet part of an official team, you see.   
And _they_ are about to undergo the shock of _their_ lives.   
Guess who the new recruits are? 

  


  
**1987:** In a horrible disaster, all members of the Whittlesy expedition are killed in some way or another. Whittlesy himself is forced to eat a plant called _lilicae mbwunensis,_ and transforms into a horrible creature called Mbwun -- He Who Walks On All Fours. 

**1988:** The Mbwun kills for the first time; a man is found dead at a shipping yard in Belém, Brazil. Later, a small freighter, for New Orleans, runs aground. All the crew were found not only dead, but brutally slaughtered. 

**1992:** Margo, Smithback, D'Agosta, and Pendergast -- with the aid of Gregory Kawakita and Dr. Frock -- find the Mbwun in the New York Natural History Museum. After many twists and turns, not to mention a lot of panic, Margo and Pendergast manage to kill the beast. 

**1994:** Margo, Smithback, D'Agosta, and Pendergast must once more team up to kill the Wrinklers -- horrible mutants, resulting from the consumption of _lilicae mbwunensis_ -- and a now-insane Dr. Frock, before gallons of infected water is dumped from the resivoire into the ocean. Ultimately, they suceed. 

**1995:** Seven children -- Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Koushiro, Mimi, Jyou, and Takeru -- are transported from summer camp to the DigiWorld. They meet their Digimon partners, find out that they are the legendary (at least among the Digimon) DigiDestined, and battle many evils. Just when they defeat Devimon, they find out that there are four Dark Masters for them to defeat. 

**1996:** The DigiDestined discover that the quote-unquote "Eighth Child" is Taichi's little sister, Hikari! Unfortunately, so does the incredibly powerful Piedmon. Needless to say, another battle ensues. 

**1997:** After a long, terrible battle with Apokalymon -- which the DigiDestined _just barely_ won -- the DigiDestined are informed that they must say goodbye to their Digimon friends; they have to go back to the real world. Also, their Digimon are now unable to Digivolve to their Ultimate forms. It seems that the evil is really gone -- for good?? 

**2000:** Of _course_ the evil's not gone for good! There's now a whole new DigiDestined team -- consisting of Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and eventually Ken -- and a new type of Digivolving -- Armor Digivolving! Ken, as the Digimon Emperor, wreaks havok upon the DigiWorld. After a while, he realizes he was wrong and repents, joining the DigiDestined and helping them fight Arukenimon and Mummymon -- and, later, Oikawa and VenomMyotismon. After another battle, which -- again -- they just barely win, it seems the DigiWorld's safe... for now... 

**2001:** Present day. And guess what? Evil is back -- in spades! It will take everything the _sixteen_ DigiDestined've got to defeat _these_ guys -- but if anyone can do it, they can! 

  
  


  
  
_And so it begins..._   
Surprisingly enough, with a trip to the beach and the opening of an exhibition. 

  


  


_Next up: Chapter #1 -- "Digital Archaeology"! It's a normal trip to the DigiWorld for six DigiDestined, until they unearth a strange fossil -- and it gets even weirder as we skip to a brand new exhibition, and four unprepared adults undergo the trip of a lifetime._


	2. Chapter #1 -- "Digital Archaeology"

Digital Reliquiae -- Chapter #1 -- "Digital Archaeology"

_Here's a simple way to tell what I own:   
If you recognise it, it's not mine. If you don't recognise it, it's still probably not mine. Use your own judgement. ~.^_

  


  
Miyako stretched out, sighing happily. "It's nice to know that we can come to the DigiWorld just to relax sometimes!" she exclaimed, grinning over at her best friend.   
Hikari grinned back. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It's not all fighting and running; there's some good things involved, too."   
"Yeah, like _no crowds!_ Glad I thought of coming down here!" Daisuke boasted.   
Takeru frowned at him. _"You_ didn't think of it, _Ken_ did!"   
Iori -- stuck as peacemaker, per usual; the two girl were giggling to hard to be of any help and Ken, also seemingly amused, was making no move to help -- came between the two boys. "Look, does it really matter who thought of it? It was a really good idea to come to the DigiWorld to swim, and it would be dumb to ruin it by fighting."   
At that instant, the Digimon came running over. "Iori, come look! I found somethin' weird while I was diggin'," Armadillomon urged, looking unusually solemn.   
Moments later, the DigiDestined were clustered around what looked like a large skeleton, set in a slab of rock. It was undoubtedly strange, looking like a cross between a dinosaur and a human. The large, horrid talons it had instead of hands and feet were obviously designed for killing.   
"How lovely," Takeru muttered finally, breaking the horrified silence. "Looks like some mad scientist was trying to gene-splice the perfect living weapon."   
"Looks like he succeeded," Iori added darkly.   
"So, what kind of Digimon _is_ it?" Miyako asked. The others turned to see who she was talking to; she was speaking directly into her open D-Terminal. Koushiro answered from the "real" world:   
"I have no idea. It's not in any of the records Gennai gave me. It doesn't _sound_ like any normal, everyday Digimon. I think that, maybe..." he trailed off, obviously reluctant to finish the thought."   
"You think that, maybe, _what?"_ Daisuke, patience _not_ being one of his _stronger_ virtues, was almost yelling.   
There was another moment of hesitant silence. "You're probably going to think I'm crazy," Koushiro finally replied, speaking slowly. "But I think that, maybe, this... _thing_ wasn't a _Digimon_ at all."   
After yet another moment's silence, Daisuke laughed a little. "Well, whatever it was, it's definately _long_ dead -- and good riddance!"   
Everyone relaxed, and Miyako broke the connection with Koushiro -- but only after letting him hear her teasing reply of, "Ooh, 'riddance' -- I didn't know you knew that word, Daisuke," and the laughter that followed.   
Of course -- that _thing_ had been dead for a long time. It was extinct. _Gone._   
Forever. 

  
A ways off, a strange Digimon -- and it _was_ definately a Digimon now, even if it hadn't been before -- prowled the forest. A rustling sound caught its attention, and it smelled the hormones pumping off of the creature. The creature it smelled was afraid.   
Good.   
It broke into a strange, strangely fast sloping run, and was soon out of sight.   
A moment later there was a wet crunching noise, a sudden unearthly scream -- and silence. 

  
"Could someone _please_ remind me why we're here?"   
D'Agosta and Pendergast ignored the complaining journalist. Margo looked to first one, then the other for help, then sighed and turned to Smithback. "For the fifth time, it was just something normal to do -- for old times sake. If you _really_ want to make conversation, couldn't you say something other than that same question over and over again?"   
Smithback grinned cheekily. "Nope. But seriously, Lotus Blossom, couldn't you have picked a more... _interesting_ get-together spot? Nobody here's _doing_ anything."   
Two things happened at the same time.   
First off, D'Agosta grumbled, "Stop complaining, Smithback." Second, Margo took one casual look around the room -- and yelped in surprise.   
The other three turned to look at her. They were the only ones who did.   
"What's wrong, Margo?" Pendergast asked, slightly concerned.   
Margo was shaking, all of the blood drained from her face. "Smithback's _right,"_ she managed, wide-eyed.   
D'Agosta rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's the end of the world. Geez, don't scare us like that--"   
_"Haven't you noticed that nobody's BREATHING??"_   
The three men winced. Margo didn't usually yell. Smithback even stepped back slightly, bumping into a young lady. "Sorry," he apologised, then did a double take. The lady didn't accept the apology, or turn around and cuss him out -- two major possibilites in NYC. She simply... toppled over. Like a mannequin.   
There was a short silence.   
"Nobody's breathing," Smithback agreed after a moment, looking around nervously. "Nobody's breathing, and they're frozen like statues or something. This is definately _not_ a good thing."   
Pendergast watched, an unreadable look on his face, as D'Agosta gently poked a teenage boy in the back. The kid fell over, knocking a few other people down, domino-style. "Not only have the people been put in some kind of suspended animation," the FBI agent pointed out, "but can anyone hear the sound of traffic?"   
"No." Smithback shook his head doubtfully. "But what does that have to do with... anything..." he glanced out the window. Outside, everything was perfectly still. "Oh. Oh, _shit."_   
"Jesus H. Christ," D'Agosta muttered. "What the fuck is going on, here?"   
Margo looked like she was about to hyperventalate from panic. "Like _I'd_ know??" she exclaimed. "Everyone's frozen!"   
"Except us," Smithback offered, unhelpfully obvious.   
Pendergast nodded. "And I have a feeling we're not going to like the reason why."   
D'Agosta opened his mouth to offer his two cents, but he was interrupted by a loud screeching noise. The sound of dimensions unhinging at the seams.   
There was a bright flash of light and heat. And the people unfroze, beginning to go about their everyday activities. Several people had to pick themselves up off the floor, wondering how they'd gotten there in the first place, and eventually coming to the conclusion that some people in the crowd had shoved them. There was much muttering and glaring.   
Only four people didn't breathe, or move, or anything.   
Because those four people were gone. 

  


  


_Next up: Chapter #2 -- "Blast From The Past"! It isn't the Bahamas, but it just might be the Bermuda Triangle. Having been reverted to teenagers, Margo and the boys meet the DigiDestined... and immidiately make the connection between the fossil and the Mbwun! Good thing it's extinct... hey, waitasec..._


	3. Chapter #2 -- "Blast From The Past"

Digital Reliquiae -- Chapter #2 -- "Blast From The Past"

_The only thing I own is the story, and some of the Digimon. Mmm-kay? Mmm-kay. _

Warning: this section contains minor Daisuke-bashing. Why, do you ask? 'Cos it's fun! ^^;; 

  


  
"Marco!"   
"..."   
"Marco!"   
"..."   
_"I said 'Marco', dammit!!"_   
Iori looked up from the fossil. "Don't curse, Daisuke," he reprimanded, then went back to staring at the skeleton intently. He'd been examining it for the past ten minutes, and nothing the others said could pry him away from it.   
Laughing, Takeru swam away from the irate Motomiya, heading toward Hikari. "Hey, beautiful," he greeted her, grinning.   
Hikari laughed. "Flattery? Like that worked for Daisuke," she teased, batting her eyes so he'd know she was kidding. Then she quickly became serious. "I'm a little worried about Iori. He's been staring at that fossil for a long time, now."   
Takeru shrugged helplessly, the awkward movement submersing him momenterally. "I know, but what can we do? We can't force him away from it if he doesn't want to go, you know that."   
"Yeah," Miyako jumped in, nodding in agreement. "But it's still kind of strange. Hey, Iori!" she yelled. "Get away from that rock for a while and come play Marco-Polo!"   
Ken shot an amused glance at Daisuke, who was swimming away, out of hearing range. The goggle-boy was obviously enraged, but it hadn't yet occured to him to go ahead and open his eyes. "Maybe we should play by the rules and say 'Polo'," he suggested.   
The four DigiDestined exchanged grins. "Nahh!" they chorused after a second, looking back over at Daisuke. The boy was appearing smaller and smaller as he got further and further away, but they could still hear it when he began yelling again:   
"Marco! Aw, c'mon guys, answer me! Marco! Where _are_ you guys?? Mar-- hey, waitasec!"   
It had just occured to Daisuke that he could open his eyes. He began swimming back, glaring.   
"That wasn't funny, guys!" he yelled at the four DigiDestined. They were giggling too hard to answer.   
"S-sorry, Dai-kun, but we couldn't resist," Ken apologised, grinning from ear to ear. Still, the ex-Kaiser didn't want his boyfriend mad at him, so he stifled his laughter.   
Daisuke glared a moment longer, then suddenly grinned. "Yeah, okay. Hey, anyone wanna play _what the heck is that??"_ the boy finished loudly, eyes widening.   
The others turned to look, their mirthfulness quickly fading. Near Iori, some fifteen feet up in the air, a jagged white area of absolute _nothingness_ had opened.   
A split second later, four kids dropped out of it.   
Miyako was quickly on shore, running over to the four kids. "They're alive," she informed the rest a moment later. "Not happy, and definately not conscious, but alive."   
The other five -- including Iori, who was obviously of the opinion that kids falling from nowhere was a higher priority than a fossil, even one with terrible ripping claws -- clustered around. The kids were gradually reviving.   
Only one was a girl. She had shoulder-length, mousey brown hair, and was wearing a green blouse and a pair of blue jeans.   
One of the boys was tall -- probably as tall as Jyou. He had longish, slightly curly brown hair, and was wearing khaki pants and a grey t-shirt.   
Another of the boys had short black hair, and was wearing black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt.   
The fourth kid...   
"Hey! Whoa! What's _his_ malfunction??" Daisuke exclaimed. The kid's dark blue pants and black t-shirt was an incredible offset to his pale skin and almost-white blonde hair.   
Hikari just rolled her eyes. "So says the boy with the maroon hair," she quipped. Daisuke just shrugged, throwing her an embarassed grin.   
The girl groaned and rolled over, her eyes fluttering open. "Ughhh... wha... where am I?" she asked groggily, blinking in confusion at the half-dozen DigiDestined.   
Miyako grinned. "You're in the DigiWorld!" she exclaimed, adding, "Oops, sorry," when the girl winced at the volume.   
"The DigiWorld? Man, I couldn't've heard that right; I've got a _major_ headache..." the girl trailed off, staring at the Digimon. She blinked. "Ooo-_kay_..."   
"Hey, kid, what's your name?" Takeru asked gently, cocking his head to one side.   
The girl struggled into a sitting position. _"Kid??"_ she repeated, obviously confused. "My name's Margo Green; I'm a research scientist. And I'm twenty-nine years old, so I don't know who you're calling 'kid'," she finished, slightly contemptuous.   
Daisuke laughed. "Yeah, right. Look, Margo, I don't know how hard you hit your head, but you are not a _day_ over sixteen."   
Ken shrugged helplessly. "He's right. Wherever you came from, you sure aren't the same as you were... in more ways than one, apparently."   
Margo looked angry, then bemused -- then slightly paniced as she looked down at herself. "Gahh!" she yelped, leaping to her feet, completely ignoring her headache. "I _am_ sixteen! What the-- huh?" She interrupted herself, then broke off in amazement.   
She'd noticed the other three kids. 

  
Margo gaped at the three kids. Two of them were definately familiar, and she was pretty sure she knew who the third was. She could feel the color drain from her face.   
"Hey, what's wrong?"   
Margo ignored the kid; she began shaking her head, trying to clear it. A pain shot through her head and she winced, gritting her teeth. Shaking her head when she had a headache wasn't the smoothest move; she stopped.   
"Margo? Hey, can you hear me?"   
Margo snapped out of it. "Huh??" she asked, blinking. It wasn't the most brilliant responce, but it _was_ her most prominent thought at the moment.   
The brown-haired girl looked concerned, but it was the blonde boy who replied, "You zoned out for a minute, there. You okay?"   
"Do you know these people?" a small, brown-haired boy asked in a soft voice.   
Margo laughed a little, weirded out. "Yeah. I mean, I think so. They were a bit, um, _older_ the last time I saw them, but they're still kind of recognisable. I think it's them, anyway." She was obviously unsure of her convictions.   
The maroon-haired boy sat down suddenly, grinning. "Hey, we might as well do the introductions before they wake up; it might get outta control. The name's Motomiya Daisuke. The others are Kamiya Hikari, Takaishi Takeru, Inoue Miyako, Hida Iori, and Ichijouji Ken."   
Margo blinked. "You're... Japanese, then?" she queried. When the six kids nodded, she smiled and responded, "Well, you know I'm Margo Green; I _think_ I know who the other three are. The one with brown hair is Bill Smithback, and..." she trailed off, thinking. "Well, the black-haired kid is D'Agosta, and I think I heard Pendergast call him Vincent a few times." She shrugged a little, smiling shyly. "The last kid's Pendergast; I have _no_ clue what his first name is. He never really introduced himself."   
"Well, Margo, that's because I never felt any need to," a calm, genteel Southern voice interjected. "And it's 'Ryan', by the way."   
Margo blushed a little as she and the six kids turned to look at the speaker. "Sorry, Pendergast -- Ryan, I mean -- I didn't know you'd woken up. These are--"   
"I know their names; I've been conscious for a while." Pendergast smiled. "Sometimes it works out better when nobody knows that you're listening in. When I figured that we weren't in any danger, I decided it would be safe to, ah, introduce myself. It appears," he added thoughtfully, looking around -- his gaze lingering a moment on Margo, and the unconscious Smithback and D'Agosta -- "that something very strange has happened."   
Margo couldn't help but laugh. "No, really? I hadn't noticed. It's perfectly normal that we're now teenagers."   
"We're what now?" someone groaned. Smithback was sitting up, rubbing his head and wincing. "Geez, did anyone get the number of that truck? I feel like-- hey, why'm I a tenor allava sudden?"   
"We're teenagers, genious," D'Agosta growled, pulling himself into a sitting position. "The question is, _why?"_   
"More importantly," Margo jumped into the questioning, "where?"   
"Uh, guys?" Smithback shrilled, pointing. "I think that maybe the most importent question is _what the hell is that??"_   
All nine turned to look. "Oh, we think that's a fossil of a long-extinct Digimon," Hikari informed the four newcomers. "Actually, we're not entirely sure it _is_ a Digimon, but what else could it be?"   
Margo, her eyes wide and all the color drained from her face, looked over at Pendergast. The albino was staring intently at the fossil.   
"I believe I can tell you what it is," he relied slowly. "That is the reliquiae" -- and at the word 'reliquiae', a shiver ran up the other three just-turned-adolescents' spines -- "of a creature called _Mbwun."_

  


  


_Next up: Chapter #3 -- "Beware The Gentry"! Meet the Gentrymon, elf-like Digimon that are as displeased with the finding of the reliquiae as the ones who've found it. Luckily, the quite unpleasent meeting unearths several new DigiMentals. Four, to be exact..._


	4. Chapter #3 -- "Beware The Gentry"

Digital Reliquiae -- Chapter #3 -- "Beware The Gentry"

_Just to be safe, I'm disclaiming everything except the storyline. Happy now, lawyers? @@;; _

Just so's you remember, and I don't have to keep writing it: Margo = Margo Green, Bill = Smithback, Vincent = Lt. D'Agosta, and Ryan = Special Agent Pendergast. They're kids now, so they use first names. Happy? 

  


  
The DigiDestined sat in horrified silence. Margo, Bill, Vincent, and Ryan had just finished telling them, in full detail, exactly what an Mbwun _was._ And it wasn't pretty.   
"It eats people's _brains??"_ Takeru asked for the third time. The others were in similar states of disbelief.   
"But it's still long dead, right?" Hikari asked, worried. "I mean, it would have taken a long time for it to be fossilized like that..."   
"Do you think these four would have been drawn here unless something was wrong?" Iori asked rhetorically. "I mean, they seem to know about this Mbwun; maybe it's come back or something."   
"Nobody make referances to Jurassic Park," Miyako muttered, forcing a slight smile.   
Daisuke, on the other hand, leapt up. "Hey, what's everyone so worried about? Even if the thing _has_ come back, our Digimon can take care of it! Right, guys?"   
The goggle-boy's boasting was met with unsure silence.   
"Hey, that's the second time you've said that word. What are Digimon?" Margo asked, curious.   
_"We're_ Digimon," Gatomon replied from about a foot away, making the four newcomers jump.   
"What the-- a talking cat?" Bill looked around. "Maybe someone spiked the punch, 'cos I'm pretty sure that cat just talked."   
"What punch?" Margo asked, then shook her head. "Nevermind. I don't really need, or want, to know. But, waitasec, you're trying to say that cat thing can take on an Mbwun?"   
"My name's Gatomon," the Digimon responded, not quite answering the question. "That's Patamon, Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and Wormmon."   
"And they can fight," Iori continued. "Really well, actually. They also Digivolve--"   
An arrow cut him off -- it would have been perminantly if Armadillomon hadn't pushed him out of the way -- and almost immidiately everyone had hit the dirt.   
"What the _hell_ is going on?" Bill hissed fearfully.   
"I don't know, but we'd better be ready for a fight," Iori responded seriously. Then he smiled, adding, _"This_ is Digivolving. DigiArmor energise!" 

  
The Digimon next to him -- Armadillomon? -- apparently knew what to do. "Armadillomon, Armor Digivolve to Drillmon, the drill of Knowledge!"   
The other DigiDestined took the cue. The other four stared, dumbstruck, as the Digimon... changed.   
"Patamon, Armor Digivolve to Pegasusmon, flying Hope!"   
"Gatomon, Armor Digivolve to Nefertimon, the angel of Light!"   
"Veemon, Armon Digivolve to Flamedramon, the fire of Courage!"   
"Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve to Halsemon, the wings of Love!"   
"Wormmon, Digivolve to Stingmon!"   
"Hey," Bill elbowed Margo none to gently in the ribs, "why didn't the worm change the same as the others?"   
Margo elbowed him back, slightly harder. "Like I'd know? This kind of thing doesn't happen every day."   
"Around here it does," Ken smiled a little, then jumped on Stingmon's back. "All right, let's get this over with."   
"Come out and show yourselves!" Daisuke shouted with his perpetual bravada. If he was the least bit afraid, he didn't show it.   
For a frozen second, nothing happened. Then, several dozen people stepped from the woods.   
"They're archers," Margo whispered.   
Bill looked at her like she was crazy. "Margo, they're _elves."_   
"Gentrymon!" Nefertimon warned, "Their Poison Arrows guarantee a killing shot, and their Bewitching Melodies aren't anything to laugh at, either!"   
One of the Gentrymon stepped foreward. "Let us have the reliquiae," he commanded in a wheedling, melodious voice. "You have no need of it. Will the pretty ladies give us our reliquiae?"   
Margo suddenly felt lightheaded. Of course, they didn't need the fossil. They really should let the Gentrymon have it. It made perfect, beautiful sense. But...   
"No," she managed to say in a leaden voice -- a flat, empty sound compared with the Gentrymon's voice. "It's... not... _yours."_   
The Gentrymon looked puzzled. "But of course it isn't ours, pretty lady -- not until you give it to us. You _will_ give it to us, won't you?"   
Her last shreds of rational thought -- the part of her saying that, no, she _couldn't_ let them have it -- dissapated. What a wonderful gift the reliquiae would make, a peace offering for the Gentrymon! Margo, entranced, found herself reaching for the fossil...   
Then she was on her back, gaping at Bill, her hand flying up to her cheek. "Y-you _slapped_ me!" she exclaimed, completely stunned. She glared; he glared right back.   
_"Backhanded,_ Lotus Blossom -- and you'd _lost_ it. What the hell were you _thinking??"_   
"Bewitching Melody," Takeru replied for her, grim. "Male Gentrymon. Females acting like puppets, doing whatever the guy says. What do _you_ think?"   
"I think we leave before a lady elf joins in," Iori said. "And, whatever happens, we _don't_ let them have the fossil -- since it seems that's what they're after."   
The other DigiDestined girls were snapping out of it. "I'm with that," Hikari agreed shakily. "If you guys go under, nobody'll be around to help the ones who are under Gentrymon control."   
"So we just _run??"_ Daisuke exploded, outraged. Miyako nodded vigerously.   
"Uh-huh, we just run. Say 'ja' to the elves, everyone -- DigiPort, _open!!"_   
And, with another falling sensation -- like the one they'd experienced when the four JTTs (**J**ust-**T**urned-**T**eens) had first dropped into the DigiWorld not too long ago -- the ten kids were heading... elsewhere. 

  
It was _not_ a pleasent landing.   
_"OW!!"_   
For one thing, they had all shot out of a computer at high speeds, accidentally landing on another kid who'd been sitting at the keyboard.   
For another thing, Iori had been holding the reliquiae -- and _it_ had landed on half of them.   
"We need airbags," Ken grumbled.   
"Get off!" a muffled voice from the bottom of the pile shouted. "You could have given a slight warning!"   
Everyone scrambled off, into slightly more dignified states of collapse. "Sorry, Koushiro-sempaii," Miyako was apologising to the red-haired boy everyone had landed on. "We needed to get out of there right away. It was kind of an emergancy; I didn't have time to call ahead."   
Koushiro smiled. "Apology accepted, Miyako. I just have two questions. One: when you say that it was an emergancy, does that mean the DigiWorld's in trouble again? And two: who are those four?"   
"Quite probably hai to the first one," Iori responded glumly, gesturing toward the reliquiae. "Take a look at this."   
Margo, Bill, Vincent, and Ryan quickly introduced themselves, and explained once more that they believed the fossil was that of an Mbwun -- and what, exactly, an Mbwun was.   
"Well," Koushiro said, taking a deep breath. "Does anyone mind if I call the others down here? You're probably going to need backup, at the very least."   
"Hey, what's this?" Bill interrupted, staring down at a small, egg-shaped object in his hand. "And where'd it come from? I didn't even notice I was holding it till just now."   
"That's a DigiMental!" Patamon exclaimed, grinning. "And you _all_ have one -- you just haven't noticed it, yet."   
Margo looked down. Sure enough, there was an object, the same kind of thing as Bill's, in her hands.   
"What I don't understand is why your Digimon haven't come out of it yet," Koushiro mused thoughtfully. "They usually do so as soon as you pick your DigiMental up for the first time; then it becomes DigiArmor."   
"Maybe we have to set it down, then pick it back up -- you know, since we didn't even realize we'd picked it up the first time," Margo suggested, feeling a little foolish. As an experiment, she set it down on one of the computer desks, then picked it up.   
Nothing happened.   
"Well, so much for that theory. We have defective eggs," Bill cracked. Margo was about to respond, when a bright green light suddenly filled the room.   
"Gahh!" she yelped in shock, dropping the DigiMental. It hit the floor with an 'oof'.   
Waitasec... _oof??_   
"You didn't have to drop me. Geez," complained a voice near her ankles. The light faded. A small, whiteish fuzzball, with big button eyes and three fluffy, blue-tipped tails, gave her a slightly insulted Look.   
"Sorry," Margo responded, her brain numb with a whole lot of shock. It was the only thing she could think to say. That and, "Um... what?"   
The tailed fluff smiled. "S'okay. My name's Tailmon; I'm your Digimon!"   
Margo then did something that she wasn't proud of. That, later, would really embarass her. She'd been dealing with the stress up till that point -- pretty well, actually _very_ well, considering that she'd jumped two worlds in a half hour -- but at that point, she'd finally had enough.   
She passed out.   
_**THUD!!**_

  


  


_Next up: Chapter #4 -- "Cui Ci Sono Dei Mostri"! When Margo wakes up, meet the rest of the Digimon -- and the four new DD get to meet the 01 Team! The four JTTs must come to terms with the fact that they're now younger, making friends with and running away from Digimon, and trying to save multiple worlds... Pres-sure!_


End file.
